Sometimes students need to stop and listen to what their friends are really saying. Being surrounded by positive people can be beneficial and motivate you. On the other hand, if you’re around negative people, they could bring you down or begin to negatively affect your thoughts.
In this activity, students will create a storyboard illustrating the things they hear from their friends and how that makes them feel. These things do not necessarily have to relate to the student in question. Hopefully your students will produce all positive cells because we want them to have positive people around them. For those who do not, the important piece of their storyboard is their reflection.
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Student Instructions
At times, we need to stop and listen to what our friends are saying around us. You’ll be creating a storyboard representing examples of what you hear daily, positive or negative.
Foster open communication by setting up a classroom circle where students can safely share positive things they’ve heard from peers. This creates a supportive environment and helps students recognize the impact of their words.
Establish ground rules for how students speak and listen to each other. Clear expectations help ensure that every student feels valued and heard during discussions.
Demonstrate active listening using short role-plays. Show students how to respectfully react and respond to both positive and negative comments. This builds empathy and communication skills.
Prompt students to journal or discuss how peer comments affect their mood and self-confidence. Encouraging reflection helps them become more aware of the power of words.
Highlight students who regularly use encouraging language or show kindness. Public recognition motivates others to contribute positively to the classroom atmosphere.
The 'Crowd You're Around' lesson helps students reflect on how the words and attitudes of their friends impact their feelings. It encourages them to identify positive and negative influences through a creative storyboard activity.
To create a storyboard, ask students to draw four cells: the first three depict things friends commonly say (positive or negative), and the last cell shows the student's reflection. Facial expressions should match the emotions felt from those words.
Reflecting on what friends say helps students recognize the impact of positive and negative comments on their well-being and empowers them to seek supportive relationships.
Positive examples include encouragement like 'You did great!' or 'I'm proud of you.' Negative examples might be 'You're not good enough' or 'Nobody likes you.'
Teachers can use this storyboard activity to open discussions about bullying, help students identify harmful language, and promote a more supportive classroom environment.